Sidetracked Travel - The Beginning

I want to start out by introducing myself a bit better and talking about what I’ll be writing about in future posts.

One of the most important things to me is to always have a trip planned. As someone who always wants to be anywhere else, knowing I’ll be going somewhere new keeps me excited for the new year. Right now, it’s Utah, USA in April of 2020, and Belize in November of 2020. Sometimes all you need is a little motivation to get started planning your first trip. For me, it was living in a state I hated, and knowing I would be able to take a trip kept me motivated and moving steady through work and school. Whatever your motivation is, don’t let it make you miserable, make it fuel your determination.

I always heard that it was silly to plan a trip too far in advance, but what those people don’t tell you is how much easier it is to afford a trip if you plan it a year in advance. When I went to Spain, I started paying for it a year and a half in advance, which is one of the easiest ways to make a trip affordable. I want to start by acknowledging that everyone comes from different financial backgrounds, and the way you choose to save money is different for everyone, but we can talk more about that later.

My first kind of out of country trip was to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands (so technically not out of country, but it certainly felt like it). I was fairly young, about 16 at the time, but it opened a whole new world to me. I got to experience the way those citizens were living, go snorkeling for the first time, experience jeep riding through the mountains and forests, and most importantly - try the sugar cane they had set up in huts along the sides of the road. This trip sparked my love for sea-life, shipwrecks, and started my search to understand the history of each country I go to.

Since then, most of my trips have been around the United States, including hiking in the Colorado mountains, exploring the honky-tonks in Texas, enjoying every part of Georgia, and hiking through the Smoky Mountains. Spain and Portugal were my trips this year, and I was lucky enough to be able to stay and entire month. This was the best experience of my life (to date), and I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful the European hostel system is, and how important it is to pack light. I made the entire month with nothing but normal sized Eddie Bauer backpack, and let me tell you, watching everyone else struggle with suitcases made me so thankful that I packed light! If you can get away with a backpack, DO IT.

Until I take my next adventure, I’m going to be writing about past trips, along with those packing tips I promised. When I say we’re going to talk about food, I mean it. If you’re more interested in travel tips, there’s a link for you. If you’re interested in food, there’s a link for you. If you’re interested in where to go, there’s even a link for you. And of course, there is a portfolio filled with nothing but the animals (mostly dogs) I’ve encountered on my trips. Hopefully this will be a great learning platform for everyone! I’m going to be putting in a comment platform at the end of each post so that y’all can get involved and let me know what you’d like to know more about. Of course, always feel free to reach out to me on social media! I set up an Instagram and Twitter just for the occasion (bare with me on the Twitter, I’ve never had one before).